This invention relates generally to the removal or weeds or other vegetation from bodies of water. In particular, this invention relates to an aquatic weeding device of the type for use on a vessel and, more particularly, to such a device providing for transport of collected weeds from the vessel.
Aquatic vegetation can grow on or below the surface of a body of water. Growths of aquatic vegetation can be a significant problem due to the rate of growth and the mass of growth over a period of time. In fact, some aquatic vegetation can completely cover a body of water in a very short period of time, making it useless for many purposes. Therefore, there is considerable incentive to remove such vegetation. In addition to the benefits of removal, after removal some types of vegetation can be used for other purposes, such as fertilizer.
In consequence, various devices have been designed for removing aquatic vegetation from the water in which it is growing. Some known devices simply cut the vegetation and leave it to sink or disperse through the body of water. Other systems include devices for gathering the vegetation on the water surface and for collecting the gathered vegetation in barges before transferring the vegetation to land. These latter systems are preferred in that they actually remove the plants from the water rather than leaving dead vegetation to rot or result in further growth.
Other aquatic weed cutting machines are known in which powered cutting implements located at the submerged, forward end of an endless conveyor elevator mounted on a barge or pontoon vessel, cut weeds below the water surface. The conveyor typically moves the severed portion of the growth away from the cutting implements. After the cutting step, these machines typically allow for the weeds to be scooped and dumped onto the shore or provide for the cut weeds to be accumulated into bales or otherwise bundled for later delivery to a desired location.
Devices which scoop the weeds from the water must continually scoop throughout the cutting process lest the weeds drift away to another part of the body of water. Typically, such scooping devices require the weeding operator to move the vessel toward the shoreline to allow the scoop to dump the weeds on land.
The devices using later delivery of the weeds to the shore typically requires use of another vessel or vehicle which receives the weeds before transferring them to their intended destination. Other devices provide for linking bundles of weeds to a line which is pulled ashore.
These prior art devices all inefficiently deal with the transport of weeds from their precut position in the lake to their destination on land. Therefore, there is a need for an improved aquatic weeding device which allows for easy transport of cut weeds to a desired location on land. In addition, there is a need for such a device which does not impede maneuverability of the weed cutting vessel.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved aquatic weeding device, of the type for use on a water vessel, which overcomes the problems and shortcomings of the prior art, including those referred to above.
Another object of the invention is to provide a weeding device which provides for weed removal and transport to a desired location from a single vessel.
Another object of the invention is to provide an aquatic weeding device which provides for an extendable, retractable and pivotable weed transporter to allow for transport of collected weeds from the weeding vessel to a desired location.
Another object of the invention is to provide an aquatic weeding device which allows for accumulation of weeds on the vessel before moving the vessel to a dumping position where an adjustable weed transporter can be used to deliver the weeds to a desired location.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an aquatic weeding device which includes a retractable weed transporter such that the transporter may be retracted to provide increased maneuverability of the vessel when weeds are not being transported from the vessel to the desired location.
In accordance with the present invention, an improved aquatic weeding device is provided for removing vegetation including weeds from a body of water and transporting the vegetation to a desired location.
The aquatic weeder includes: at least one weeding element for collecting aquatic vegetation or weeds connected with respect to a vessel; a weed transporter for transporting the cut vegetation to a desired location, the transporter positioned on the vessel and being extendible and retractable; and a weed transferor positioned on the vessel for transferring the collected vegetation from the weeding element to the weed transporter.
The weeding element preferably includes a weed cutter for cutting aquatic vegetation and a collecting conveyor for collecting and moving the cut vegetation to the vessel. The weeding element is preferably controllable by a weeder operator such that the weeding element can be moved in a body of water to collect located vegetation. The weed transporter is also preferably controllable by a weeder operator such that the vegetation can be delivered to the desired location when a sufficient amount of vegetation have been transferred to the weed transporter.
The weed transferor preferably comprises at least one transfer conveyor belt upon which vegetation is received from the weeding element. Vegetation can be held on the transfer conveyor until a desired amount of vegetation is accumulated before being conveyed to the transporter, continuously conveyed to the transporter from the weeding element, or conveyed at a rate between these two examples. The weed transferor preferably comprises a first transfer conveyor which receives vegetation from the weeding element and a second transfer conveyor which receives vegetation from the first transfer conveyor and transfers the vegetation to the weed transporter.
The weed transporter preferably includes at least one transport conveyor which receives vegetation from the weed transferor. More preferably, the weed transporter includes a first transport conveyor for receiving vegetation from the weed transferor and a second transport conveyor for receiving vegetation from the first transport conveyor. The second transport conveyor is preferably movable with respect to the first transport conveyor such that the weed transporter can be extended from the vessel to deliver the vegetation to a desired location, such as on the shore of the body of water. The second transport conveyor is also preferably movable with respect to the first transport conveyor such that the second transport conveyor is substantially retracted to provide maneuverability to the vessel when the weed transporter is not transporting vegetation from the vessel to the desired location.
In another embodiment of the aquatic weeder, the weeder comprises: a weed cutter; a control for operating the weed cutter at various water depths; a weed collecting system for moving the cut vegetation away from the weed cutter; and a weed transporter for transporting the cut vegetation to a desired location. The preferred transporter has a entry and exit and is adjustable such that the exit can be placed at a desired position relative to the apparatus so that the cut vegetation is delivered to the desired location. A weed transferor may be included in the aquatic weeder to transfer vegetation from the weed collecting system to the entry of the transporter.
It is preferred that the weed cutter be operatively connected with respect to a vessel, the weed transferor be positioned on the vessel and the weed transporter be positioned on the vessel and extendable and retractable such that the exit can be extended from the vessel to the desired location or retracted toward the vessel to improve the maneuverability of the vessel when cut vegetation is not being delivered to the desired location.
In addition, the weed transporter may be pivotable such that the exit can be raised or lowered with respect to the vessel independent of any extension or retraction of the weed transporter. When pivoting is coupled with extension, the exit can be placed at a wide variety of positions relative the vessel.
In an embodiment preferred in certain situations, the vegetation is received by the weed transporter directly from the a weed collecting system without use of a weed transferor. In such an embodiment, the weed transporter is positioned immediately downstream of the weed collecting system.
The invention also includes a method of removing vegetation from a body of water comprising: cutting the vegetation, collecting the vegetation onto a vessel preferably by a collecting conveyor, transferring the vegetation onto a weed transporter having an exit and, preferably, a transport conveyor, extending the weed transporter such that the exit is positioned at a desired location, transporting the vegetation from the vessel to the exit such that the vegetation is received at the desired location and retracting the weed transporter to improve maneuverability of the vessel. It is preferred that each step of the method be controllable by a weeding operator positioned on the vessel. In certain situations, the vegetation may be collected on a transfer conveyor belt before being transferred to the weed transporter.
In a preferred method, the vessel is positioned at a desired removal location before the cutting step, the vessel is moved to a desired dumping position before the extending step, and the vessel is moved to another desired removal location to begin another weed removal process after the retracting step.